Leicester City entered the Christmas period on top of the Premier League table thanks to a 3-2 triumph over Everton at Goodison Park.
Claudio Ranieri's Foxes helped themselves to a third consecutive win which extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches and sees them two points clear of second-placed Arsenal who beat Manchester City 2-1 on Monday night.
Riyadh Mahrez continued his scoring purple patch when he converted form the spot after Shinji Okazaki had been brought down by Ramiro Funes Mori before the half-hour mark prior to Romelu Lukaku's 32nd-minute goal which saw his scoring run move to seven straight matches.
Mahrez netted his 13th of the season when again scoring from 12 yards in the 65th minute after Jamie Vardy had been tripped before Okazaki had the Foxes two goals to the good when he fired home Vardy's clever pass.
Kevin Mirallas pulled one back for Roberto Martinez's side when receiving a brilliant back heel pass from Ross Barkley but it was not enough as Leicester secured their 11th win of the season.
The loss has Everton sitting 10th on the table having failed to win in their past four outings.
MATCH OVERVIEW
Everton: 2 (Romelu Lukaku 32', Kevin Mirallas 89')
Leicester City: 3 (Riyad Mahrez (PEN) 27'/(PEN) 65', Shinji Okazaki 69')
Goodison Park, Liverpool - 39,570
TALKING POINTS
- Can Leicester be stopped? Do they have a genuine title chance or is their squad not equipped for a tilt at the trophy?
- Everton still scoring but cannot win. Is it a defensive issue letting them down? There's no way they can let John Stones go anytime soon.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Leicester will be looking to maintain their top billing when they travel to Liverpool on Boxing Day as Everton strive to secure three points when they head to Newcastle United.
TWITTER INSIGHT
What a win to be top at Christmas #lcfchttps://t.co/JokxkeLnxIpic.twitter.com/J1BJWURC63
— Andy King (@10_kingy) December 19, 2015This team!!! pic.twitter.com/jjksmE7r4l
— Kasper schmeichel (@kschmeichel1) December 19, 2015Dissapointed with loss of today.. On to the next game and we will work hard to make sure enjoy… https://t.co/8OIb7n9zu4
— R.Lukaku Bolingoli10 (@RomeluLukaku9) December 19, 2015
QUOTES CORNER
Leicester's Ranieri on his side's title hopes:
"I am very, very honest. If we stay there at the end of April, I will think about the title. Now I just enjoy it," the Italian said.
"That is football. Football is crazy. If it is crazy in this way, I am very happy."
Everton boss Martinez on the penalty decisions:
"They are decisions you rely on the referee. The first penalty we need to do better, it is an action you ask the referee to make a decision as there is contact but is it a penalty?
"The second one is a typical action: the striker (Vardy) sees the goalkeeper, looks for the contact and clearly there is contact."
STATS SPECIALS
*Thanks to Opta
6 - Jamie Vardy has won six penalties in the Premier League since the start of 2014-15; more than any other player. Tripped.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 19, 20151989 - The only other team to do this in top-flight history was Norwich in 1987-88 (bottom) & 1988-89 (top). Crazy. https://t.co/NQKt1tgoso
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 19, 2015
TEAM LEADERS
Goals - Romelu Lukaku 13
Assists - Gerard Deulofeu 8
Clean sheets - Tim Howard 4
Yellow cards - James McCarthy 4
Red cards - Kevin Mirallas, Gareth Barry 1
Leicester
Goals - Jamie Vardy 15
Assists - Riyad Mahrez, Marc Albrighton 7
Clean sheets - Kasper Schmeichel 3
Yellow cards - Robert Huth 5
